Otto Bock HealthCare wins Red Dot Design Award

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - The socket valves 21Y14 PushValve and 21Y15 MagValve from Otto Bock HealthCare recently received the Red Dot Design Award for high design quality. The awards ceremony was held in Germany in the city of Essen earlier this summer.

The 21Y14 PushValve and 21Y15 MagValve products were developed with the provision to create two highly functional valves that would be easy to use. The designers also deliberately created products without any frills and chose a minimalist design instead, which also convinced the international red dot expert jury.

The unique, threadless design does not require any screwing or turning movements, preventing cross-threading in the base and over-tightening, and all that is required to create secure hold in the socket is to push the upper part of the valve into the base. An audible signal informs the patient as soon as the valve is positioned properly, and when attaching the valve body, there is no longer the risk of skin and hair getting caught.

Both socket valves are easy to open and close. The 21Y14 PushValve features two lateral wings for this purpose, and due to the larger grip size, it is particularly well-suited for elderly patients. The 21Y15 MagValve opens and closes with magnetic force. The two valves also feature a two-part base that simplifies the manufacturing process and offers the advantage that the valves can be re-used for the test socket and definitive socket.

While the PushValve is suitable for transfemoral amputees, the MagValve can be used for knee disarticulation amputees of all mobility grades and for upper extremity. Thanks to their easy handling, both valves can also be used for the fitting of geriatric patients and amputees with restricted finger mobility.

According to its website (www.red-dot.de), with more than 11,000 submissions from 61 countries, the Red Dot Design Award is the largest and most renowned design competition in the world. Each year an international jury reviews and evaluates the submitted projects according to criteria such as degree of innovation, functionality and formal quality, with the award recognizing “membership of the best in design and business.”

Minnesota-based Otto Bock HealthCare LP was established in 1958 as the Americas corporate headquarters of Otto Bock HealthCare, GmbH, based in Duderstadt, Germany. Otto Bock has more than 3,800 employees worldwide and produces over 25,000 types of prosthetic and orthotic components, mobility and rehabilitation products, and is the U.S. leader in delivering continuous passive motion (CPM) services and related therapies. (www.ottobockus.com)